CLEARING-HOUSE 13 CLEMENCEAU" CLEABING-HOUSE, a financial in- stitution which makes daily adjustment of debits and credits among the banks constituting its membership. In the old days before the American clearing-houses were established, Bank No. 1 sent a runner to Bank No. 2 with the check to get it cashed; and if No. 2 had a check on No. 1, it sent its runner over; and so on, all through all the banks. But now each morning the clearing-house clerks of a bank report at the clearing- house, and make out a list of all the checks payable to that bank by or through other banks; then the clearing- house people take these lists, and com- pare them. They find, for instance, that Bank A owes B $1,000 and C $500; that B owes A $500 and C $1,000, and that C owes A $500 and B $500. Comparing these, we see that A owes B $500 clear of what B owes A, and that A and C stand off; that B owes nothing to A, and owes $500 to C; and that C owes nothing to A, and is owed $500 by B. That is, that A owes B $500, and B owes C $500. Then if A pays C $500, $4,000 of mutual debts is settled for $500. When this set- tlement is worked out, the clearing-house clerks report back to their banks, and be- fore 1 o'clock sums of money are sent from each bank to the clearing-house in settlement of balances, and the checks drawn on each bank are returned to it, to be charged against the different indi- vidual depositors. The following table shows the amount of exchanges at the various clearing- houses of the United States for two years, each ending Sept. 30: 1920 1919 New York .... $252,338,249,000 $214,703,444,000 Boston 19.570,085,000 16,990,409,000 Chicago 32,845,595,000 28,223,025,000 Philadelphia. 25,035,910,000 21,320,246,000 St. Louis 8,557,096,000 8,065,368,000 San Francisco 8,272,028,000 6,703,134,000 Baltimore. . . . 4,843,326,000 4,196,983,000 Pittsburgh. . . 8,549,277,000 6,998,946,000 Cincinnati. . . . 3,567,833,000 3,047,801,000 Kansas City. . 12,318,929,000 11,036,406,000 New Orleans. . 3,562,716,000 2,890,884,000 Minneapolis. . 3,521,955,000 2,263,056,000 Detroit 5,063,224,000 4,032,443,000 Louisville. . . . 1,153,048,000 993,855,000 Cleveland. . . . 6,755,509,000 5,104,301,000 Other cities. . 67,065,470,000 50,521,640,000 Total $463,020,250,000 $387,091,941,000 CLEAVAGE, the manner or direction in which substances regularly cleave or split. The regular structure of most crystallized bodies becomes manifest as soon as they are broken. Each frag- ment presents the form of a small poly- hedron, and the very dust appears un- der the microscope an assembla£fe of minute solids, regularly terminated. The directions in which such bodies thus break up are called their planes of cleav- age; and the cleavage is called basal, cubic, diagonal, or lateral (or perito- r.ious), according as it is parallel to the base of a crystal, to the faces of a cube, to a diagonal plane, or to the lateral planes. In certain rocks again there is a tendency to split along planes which may coincide with the original plane of stratification, but which more frequently crosses it at an angle. This tendency is the consequence of the readjustment by pressure and heat of the components of rocks, which is one of the phases of metamorphism. CLEBURNE, a city of Texas, the county-seat of Johnson co. It is on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe, the Trin- ity and Brazos Valley, and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroads. Its indus- tries include cotton compresses, floui* mills, foundry and machine shops, and railroad shops, and it has a large trade in grain, live stock, hides, agricultural products, etc. There is a court house, a public library, and a high school. Pop. (1910) 10,364; (1920) 12,820. CLEF, a character placed at the be- ginning of a stave, to show the elevation of that particular stave in the general claviary or system, and to determine the names of the notes according to their positions on the stave. There are three Clefs; the G Clef, generally known as the treble Clef, which is placed on the second line of the treble stave; the G Clef, which is used either as the alto, tenor, or (rarely) soprano Clef, accord- ing to its position on the third, fourth or first line of the stave; and the F Clef, which is either bass or baritone (rare) Clef, according to its position on the fourth or third line of the stave. CLEMENCEAU, GEORGES BEN- JAMIN EUGENE, French statesman; born at Feole, Vendee, Sept. 28, 1841. His early schooling was at Nantes, whence he went to Paris, where he began the study of medicine. His republican opinions led to his suspension from the university, and it was not till after a long interval, during which he visited the United States (1865-1869), that he was able to return and obtain his diploma. The next year he was chosen mayor of the arrondissement of Montmartre, Paris, and during the struggle with the Commune, acted as an intermediary be- tween the revolutionists and the Govern- ment of the Republic. Clemenceau's long legislative career be- gan in 1871, when he was elected Deputy. For a time he was Member and President 2— Vol. in— Cyc
